Sembcorp Marine and GE Jointly Secure Offshore Renewables Project for TenneT 
Sembcorp Marine, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sembcorp Marine Offshore Platforms Pte. Ltd. (“SMOP”), and consortium partner GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions (“GE”) have jointly secured a Framework Cooperation Agreement (“FCA”) from TenneT TSO B.V. (“TenneT”). 

The FCA covers a period of five years with an option to extend another three years. It consists of three contracts, each valued at approximately EUR 2 billion, to supply the high voltage direct current (HVDC) electrical transmission systems for three mega offshore wind farm projects, with a combined capacity of six Gigawatt (GW), in the Netherlands as part of TenneT’s offshore grid acceleration programme.

Representing the largest offshore renewables project secured by the Group, Sembcorp Marine’s scope of work, involves the engineering, procurement, construction, transportation, installation and commissioning of three 2GW HVDC Offshore Converter Platforms – the biggest and most powerful of their kind in the industry. The platforms will contribute towards TenneT’s sustainability ambition through its offshore grid development programme, which involves the installation of 40GW of offshore wind energy in the German and Dutch North Seas, to enable Europe to be the world’s first climate neutral continent.

The Offshore Converter Platforms will be progressively installed to serve TenneT’s three offshore wind farm projects – the IJmuiden Ver Beta, IJmuiden Ver Gamma and Nederwiek 2 grid connections. The IJmuiden Ver projects are located about 62 km off the coast of the Netherlands, while the Nederwiek project is approximately 95 km off the coast.

Construction of the Offshore Converter Platforms, each comprising a 25,500-tonne topside and a 9,500-tonne jacket foundation structure, will progressively commence from 3Q 2024 at Sembcorp Marine’s Singapore and Batam Indonesia yards. Sembcorp Marine’s wholly-owned subsidiary Sembmarine SLP, based in the UK, will be performing the offshore hook-up and commissioning. This will include the provision of logistics and warranty support from its base in the UK, as well as the establishment of a European office in the Netherlands.

Sembcorp Marine was awarded the contract based on the strength of the Group’s offshore construction track record and expertise in the delivery of renewable wind energy projects. The Company is currently constructing a HVDC Offshore Converter Platform for the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm and a HVDC platform for the DolWin 5 Offshore Wind Farm. This latest contract award is the third HVDC offshore platform project the Company will be delivering. Offshore completion of the platforms are expected from 4Q 2029 to 2031.

Tim Meyerjürgens, COO of TenneT, said, 
“We are delighted to be working with GE and their consortium partners as part of our task to connect 40 GW offshore wind in the North Sea, one of the most important infrastructure projects of the century. TenneT has the technical know-how, scale, and geographical position to connect wind energy from the North Sea, while GE and its consortium partners have the HVDC expertise. Together, with the GE consortia and other HVDC partners we will accelerate the development of the offshore grid, thereby strengthening Europe’s energy security and putting Europe on track to become the world's first climate-neutral continent by 2050.”

Philippe Piron, CEO of GE Grid Solutions, said, 
"Together with our consortium partners, we are honoured and pleased to play a key role in this critical infrastructure project for European energy security and decarbonisation. These awards confirm that GE’s Voltage-Sourced Converter HVDC technology is now recognised as one of the most advanced in the world."

Samuel Wong, Head of SMOP, said, 
“We are heartened to be awarded this landmark contract for the turnkey construction of the 2GW Offshore Converter Platforms for TenneT’s wind farm projects. This award sets a new benchmark as our biggest capacity and highest specification offshore platforms construction project. We are excited to work with TenneT and our consortium partner GE on this milestone project to deliver the highest standards of sustainability, safety, quality and performance required."

Sembcorp Marine Chief Executive Officer Chris Ong said, 
“We are delighted, together with our partner GE, to be selected by TenneT for three of their eleven two-gigawatt offshore converter platforms in Europe. These are our largest and most advanced state-of-the-art offshore renewable energy projects to date. We thank GE and TenneT for their trust and confidence in our offshore construction capabilities.”

“We look forward to contributing to TenneT’s vision and decarbonisation objectives and at the same time contributing to the global transition towards cleaner, greener and renewable energy. Offshore renewables is an important pillar of our business and we will continue to develop cleaner, greener and renewable solutions across our entire business value chain in the offshore, marine and energy sectors.”